Gemsicuted

Written by Julian Robov


Twenty Two

Sanders hurriedly dialed the phone to call Jeb.
“Jeb! Can I talk to you now?” Sanders interrupted. Jeb was in Chantaburi viewing a few parcels of heat-treated rubies from Cambodia. The gem chef was explaining to him the results after heat treatment. Instead of changing to a good red color, the rubies had become dark. In fact, too dark and after cutting and polishing, they wouldn’t look much better either. It was a disheartening comment.
“Yeah, just hold on a sec,” said Jeb, but his second mobile buzzed. “It’s my wife. Jessy, I will talk to you later. I’ve a customer on the other line.” Jeb explained to Jessy.
“You are always like that when I’ve something important to say. Is this some kind of setup?” Jessy asked indignantly.
“Jessy, what are you talking about? Wait, wait, wait,” Jeb continued. “When I talk to a customer I get business, that’s how I make a profit, and feed the family, understand?” Jeb tried to reason with her. She was in a nether world.
“Jessy!” The line was disconnected. “Sanders, are you there?” Jeb shrugged expressively.
“I can hear the fireworks. What’s she up to this time?” Sanders asked.
“The same old crap, not enough time at home, and she thinks I’m screwing some blondes in the guise of a customer. Man, what a fucking life? Forget about business, I can’t even have a nice fuck with her, she is too religious, can you believe this? She is talking about environment degradation, population control, and save the fucking planet gospel. Fuck them all. This is a normal chaos. Okay, what’s up?” Jeb’s voice was sober.
“This is fucking serious. I can tell you. I just survived a near death experience,” Sanders said dryly.
“Why do you want to die now? You owe me a lot, don’t you?” Jeb said humorously.
“It’s not that I want to die,” Sanders added. “A guy walks into my office, you know, like a normal guy and demands that he wants to do business with me. Okay, I tolerated that part. You know, we don’t do business with fucking strangers. Then he tells me I’m hoarding a big ruby, which he desperately wants to see. The fuck, what should I say?”
“You say, Noooooooooo!” Jeb uttered.
“That’s precisely what I said. Nooooooo! And then, comes the fucking gun pointed at my aging brain. Either I show him the ruby or I’m a confirmed instant porridge,” Sanders said.
“Then what happened?” Jeb became alert.
“Me? That’s the first time in my life, I ever thought about death, one shot death. Tak tak tak, boom!” Sanders cried in fear.
“Who is this guy? Was he alone or with someone? Hey Sanders hold on a sec, will you? I’m with Suradej,” Jeb interrupted.
Suradej urged Jeb to give the Cambodian rubies one more level of heating to remove the undesirable brown after careful inspection. Jeb weighed his options, and after a careful thought, he decided to go along with Suradej, just to see the results. He didn’t care much if the result was negative. This ruby parcel was from a new mine.
“Are you there?” Sanders asked, trying hard to stay steady.
“Go ahead,” Jeb uttered holding the line.
“It’s a gang for sure,” Sanders continued. “But he was alone. Bloody cool and polite.”
“What’s he like? What tribe?” Jeb asked.
“Russian, with a French name,” added Sanders, “A pricking, Pierre Themiro!”
“Why was he exactly after you?” Jeb quipped.
“The guy bugged all my conversation with Miko,” answered Sanders. “They are after Miko and Tito for the 37carat ruby. They want it for free. He reminded me that he will come back if the information I gave was wrong.”
“What information?” Jeb asked.
“I said that the ruby was not with me, instead with Miko and Tito. They are after them. We have to do something to save their lives. Life is more important than rubies, don’t you think?” Sanders cried.
“Oh, yeah, sometimes,” Jeb reasoned. “Sure. We can’t go to the police. It will become a boomerang. The cure will be worse than the disease. What do you think?”
“Me? My brain is dead, a worthless rock, and heavily oxidized. Can’t think of any crap. Can’t even remember which day it is today?” Sanders said, hopelessly.
“So, what do you want me to do?” Jeb asked.
“We have to save them and ourselves,” Sanders added. “They have spotted us like a valuable gem. They want it for free. They are armed and organized. We need a common strategy to wipe out these assholes with their bones so that they don’t resurrect in the coming years. You are good in undercover operations. I want you to think of a practical, inexpensive, and precise execution. These morons should never try this again on anyone else in this territory. That’s what I mean. We can’t afford to just sit and watch these morons blow up our brains.”
“So? You want me to go back to the dark ages?” Jeb uttered.
“For our survival. They will hurt our business to the core. We can’t afford to look like we are damn weak. We have to eject them permanently out of our territory so that future morons would have to think twice before they land in Bangkok,” Sanders said.
“Oh, yeah?”
Their conversation was interrupted by an unexpected call.
“Daddy, its me Ruth!”
“Ruth? Very unusual, What’s the matter? Where is your mother?” Sanders asked surprisingly.
Jeb overheard the conversation, and decided to let Sanders continue his talk with Ruth. He disconnected the line, as Sanders tried in vain to reach him. Jeb switched off his mobile so that he could now concentrate on the problematic Cambodian rubies.
“Mom is not at home,” Ruth added. “That’s why I felt like calling you.”
“Tell me Ruth,” Sanders insisted. “Don’t beat around the bush. What’s the problem?”
“I’m pregnant!” she said.
“What? What did you say?” Sanders repeated several times.
“Dad, I’m pregnant. I don’t know what to do. Mom is too busy with her friends. I wanted to talk to her first, but......” Ruth cried in vain.
Sanders opened his mouth to scream, but couldn’t. He froze in his chair, speechless. A premature darkness masked the room and his perplexed mind.
“Dad, are you there?” Ruth asked desperately.
“I’m coming home Ruth,” he said angrily. He didn’t mean that way.
“Please don’t hurt me, Daddy. I’m sorry. It happened, please,” she pleaded.
“I’m coming home Ruth,” Sanders answered in a harsh tone, which meant trouble. This couldn’t have come to him at a worse time, between the devil and deep blue sea. Tears rolled out of his eyes like torrential rain, as the build up peaked to its zenith. He cried loudly, the first time in several years. The walls vibrated in sheer accordance. He looked like he was in the middle of a broken dam. It became louder and louder, as he struggled painstakingly limping out of his chair to stand straight. His eyes were almost out of their socket in rage when he thought of Chin. He wanted to chop Chin’s every part including her bones with a meat cleaver, till she turned into a stew. So much disgust and hate accumulated in his mind, and had he had the wings, he would have flown to her club and
plucked her to death.

It was too late. What happened has happened, and now what? He forgot about Troublov, Baddy, Tito, Miko, the rubies, and even death. His only thought now concentrated in putting his house in order. Only he could doctor the situation at home. As he drove home, he thought at each traffic stoplight of his role as a father, and his partial responsibility in this humiliating reward by his only daughter. He could have read the sign on the wall earlier by being with his only child instead of business. Now the damage was done, and he had no other choice but to accept it as his singular fault.

The whole concept of having kids as an investment for the future had turned out to be a bad strategy for him. Money and social recognition had done enough damage for the rest of his life. He thought of his childhood days, when having three meals a day was a luxury. He never wanted his kids to have that same fate. Instead, he worked harder and harder to make as much money as possible for them so that they wouldn’t have to worry about the uncertain future ahead. But what he had forgotten was the social prerequisite, the fatherly presence. When she needed him, he was too busy out in the streets making more money. She never understood why he was out there. Neither did Chin bother to make up for his absence. As time dragged and years passed by, negligence piled up like layers of bricks, establishing the wrong foundation. Money never stayed long in one place at any one time so he had no other choice but to grab it at each and every stop before it disappeared. This profit grab syndrome was visible everywhere like the air. He forgot about home. Everybody thought like him. Why should he be different? Now he had to worry not only about the little girl, but also about the little creature growing up in her womb like a weed, if it was true. What kind of a monster would that turn out to be when it was ready to scream out of the womb? What would that creature’s relationship be in an unfriendly world? Who would be paying the cost for this unwelcome arrival? He was just lost in thoughts, as he madly drove to the garage of his villa on Srinakarin Road.

He opened the door violently and called her loudly, “Ruth! Where are you?”
There was no answer. He called again in that same tone. Still there was no answer. Now he had reasons to worry. Has she done anything crazy? He changed his tone. He walked stealthily, room after room looking for her.
“Ruth, this is your dad. I’ll not hurt you. Just tell me where you are. I just want to talk to you. What has happened has happened. We need to talk first before we can help. Ruth, please come out wherever you are. Daddy wants to talk to you.”
As his patience ran out of heat, she emerged from the bathroom like a helpless lamb with her head down.
“Ruth!” He walked towards her slowly and gazed in disbelief. He then embraced her affectionately. She fell into his arms and cried loudly.
“What happened to you? How could it have happened?” he asked.
“I’m really sorry, daddy.” She kept repeating by rote. He slowly raised her tearful face and looked with a mix of compassion and anger.
“How do you know you are pregnant? Who told you that, Ruth?” he asked.
“My friends at school,” she replied reluctantly.
“Your friends? Are they doctors?” He couldn’t believe her statement.
“No. But they know the symptoms. I had it,” she countered.
“Like?” Sanders felt angry again.
“I can’t tell you that, dad,” she said persistently.
“I’m your father, Ruth,” said Sanders. “Who else should know? Your mother is screwedup with some women’s group in Sukhumvit or somewhere. What do you mean by I can’t tell you? I want to help you. It’s not just you. Everyone is involved and you have to speak the truth, understand?” She nodded.
“And, who is the boy responsible? Where is he?” he asked indignantly.
“He’s not saying anything, dad,” she replied innocently.
“He is not saying anything?” Sanders said indignantly. “I’ll fucking kill him. Where is he living? Why are you so supportive of him? You are having the pain, not him. So, why?” Sanders had all the reasons to bury him alive if the boy was anywhere close. He had no one else to blame, except himself and his wife. He continued, “Listen, we can’t trust your friends at school. We have to go to a friendly hospital to confirm this thing. When your mother comes, we will have to discuss this,” he said.
“Are you still angry with me daddy?” she pleaded.
“It’s too late, Ruth. It’s too late, there is no point getting angry at this stage. I love you, Ruth. You are still my daughter. But what you did, I’m still trying to cope with, you know. It’s not that easy to forget. As a father I’ve a lot of responsibility and this one, I can’t just ignore. I never expected this from you. Never in my dreams did I ever think of facing a situation like this. But, I’ve no choice,” he said hopelessly.
“I didn’t expect it to turn out this way,” Ruth reasoned.
“Well, that’s how it turned out to be. You could have avoided it. It takes only a split-second to do the wrong thing, you understand? That’s what happened. Do you know where your boy lives?”
“No!”
“What?” Sanders said angrily. “You don’t know where he lives? How can you be so dumb, Ruth? Now he fucks around you putting his thing into yours and you don’t know where he lives? What’s wrong with you? Are you out of your mind?” He had to control his spontaneous anger again. Her accomplished stupidity in sleeping with a boy with no nametag and family convinced him there was something wrong with Ruth. The price he had to pay was becoming now worth more than the best ruby in the world.
As he collapsed on the sofa, gazing at Ruth thoughtlessly, he heard the front door open. It was his socialite wife, Chin.
“Hello, everybody home? Ruth, why are you crying?”
Ruth just looked at Chin aimlessly and then at Sanders.
“What happened? Melvine, say something instead of staring at me,” Chin said.
The immediate thought, which rushed to his mind was to first grab her hair and spin her head like a top, till she dropped unconscious. He sat there orbiting with his confused thoughts, as to how to reply sensibly, but then again, he wasn’t sure if it would have any results. This time he decided she shouldn’t get away like before. He looked at her as if he was under control.
“Why don’t you ask Ruth, instead of looking at me, Chin?” he said.
“Why don’t you tell me? What’s wrong with that? I don’t have the time now to probe each and every detail. I have a talk to give tomorrow at the Aging Women’s workshop!” she said.
That was it. He had enough of her extra-curricular activities. He had to put a full stop to this nonsense.
“How on earth can you fuck around with your Aging Women’s workshop, when you have an aging daughter having pain? Do you understand what I’m trying to say?” he said angrily.
“No!” she said.
“Then you are as dumb as your daughter. How can you do something like that? Are you out of your mind? I work like a donkey twenty hours a day to fill your stomach, right? None of you have known the pain of making money. You thought that this is going to be like this for the rest of your life. And when I’m out trying to make a living, you are out spending the money like a freak, and instead of taking care of the kid and her well being. What have you done? All your fucking activities outside with your bloody friends, has it improved your intelligence one iota? Prove it to me, Chin! If you had all that extra knowledge from your activities outside this home, why can’t you apply it and make a happy and content home? Instead, what have we got? A brainless kid and a chaotic home! Talk to her, your beloved daughter and, of course, mine too. Talk to her first, and then I’ll reply,” he explained.
Chin took her seat on the sofa, and then moved closer to Sanders. Ruth was still standing looking confused.
“Ruth, come to me.” Ruth walked toward Chin, and stood motionless.
“Sit close, and tell me what happened?” She first looked at her nervously, and then uttered, “I’m pregnant!”
“That’s all? Is that a big problem? I thought it was something more serious. We can go to the clinic tomorrow and abort the whole thing. That’s what everyone does nowadays. What do you say, Melvine?”
“What do I say? This is what I do.”
He turned around and slapped her face. Sanders stood stunned, as if he was standing on a pack of explosives. He just couldn’t believe his ears. He stood up furiously again, and the next thing Chin could remember, Melvine on top, slapping her face mercilessly. He beat her severely, till he dropped to the floor exhausted. He wished she were dead. She was still breathing like a steam engine. By now Ruth had already disappeared from the room, afraid to be the next target.
“All these years I’ve worked hard to make a living, you bitch. This is how you talk to your daughter when she becomes pregnant at fifteen? I’ve never heard such a callous remark from anyone, and instead of being a concerned mother, you have encouraged her to fuck again. You don’t deserve this house. I don’t care what the fuck you think? If you want the fucking divorce, do it now. I have had enough of your partnership. I wish I had kicked you out of this home a long time ago, you bitch. Who the fuck do you think will pay all the cost of aborting Ruth?” He screamed at her.
She didn’t hear anything he said. He couldn’t tell whether she was unconscious or dead. He cared less. His immediate thought was to put her in a garbage bag and dump her in the gutter. So much disgust had accumulated with time he was now almost desperate to get rid of her at any cost. It had been a burden to him for so long, her distant and immediate presence would only aggravate the situation, not only hurting himself and his business, but the home itself. As he gradually settled his thoughts, he anxiously looked around for Ruth. But again, he cared less, as suddenly he felt too tired to care.